An inconvenient truth
Posted by pistonsnationWhen Joe traded Chauncey for Iverson my immediate reaction was one of disappointment. I’ve wanted to write something to that effect but decided to give this trade a little more time to meld. Iverson no showing yesterday’s practice was just the nudge I needed.
Chauncey Billups was my favorite Piston. He offered a cool and steady presence on the court (in addition to having one of the coolest names in sports). Billups came to the Pistons with no hype or Iverson like celebrity. All CB did was lead this team to a NBA Championship as well as championed community causes. He’s was a big asset and actually still is, just now it’s for his home team Nuggets.
I’ve never been a fan of Allen Iverson’s game. He reminds me of And1 style street ball which I’m also not a fan of. I prefer a more efficient and prototypical point guard. Even if they’re not exciting to most fans to watch.
I’ve always been of the opinion that AI’s teams never got over because of him. He’s so unique on the court that he negates a lot of traditional thinking on offense. He doesn’t run off screens or work with out the ball like a lot of two-guards. He dribbles and weaves his way to the hoop while teammates just kind of look on. He’s not a defender either. He’s undersized and as quick as he is he can’t seem to stay in front of his defensive assignment, instead counts on others to just be there when he gets deked.
Iverson is statistically one of the greatest players ever. But, he’s never found a way to use his brand of basketball to better his teammates like many of his contemporaries. He needs a lot of minutes and a lot of touches to be effective and that’s not conducive to team success.
I’ve pretty much stayed on the fence about the trade. I’d reveal some of my inner grumblings with Iverson when the Pistons suffered some of these ugly losses. But, I’d thump my chest when they’d win. Not because I’m fickle, but because I’m a fan of the Detroit Pistons. Simple as that. I want the team to succeed even if it’s with guys I didn’t care for when they played on other squads.
The trade hasn’t swayed confidence in Joe Dumars though. I know 9 out of 10 times you make this trade. The money implications are too sweet to pass up with two solid free agent classes on the horizon. The Pistons are Joe’s product. He’s made them good and has to keep them good. Plus, it created a buzz around his product that a lot of people had grown bored with. The only time you don’t make the trade is if you think the core four had a fighting shot at winning the title. Joe must not have felt that they did.
It’s tough though because like Chauncey said, had he not gotten hurt in the second round against Orlando his name would probably still be on the back of the Pistons’ #1.
The team will still be a good team this season. Will they be a serious contender? Not the erratic way they’re playing. They still need to find a way to get Rip back involved and definitely need work on team defense.
Even if they pull it together and get on the same page Piston fans shouldn’t get too attached to Allen Iverson. Joe isn’t going to resign him. What would be the point of the trade if he did??
This entry was posted on Friday, November 28th, 2008 at 2:52 pm and is filed under Allen Iverson, Chauncey Billups, Fanalyzed. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
“But, he’s never found a way to use his brand of basketball to better his teammates”
If you play on the perimeter with Iverson, you tend to find yourself with a lot of wide open shots.
Eric Snow.
Aaron McKie.
Kyle Korver.
Steve Blake.
Linas Kleiza.
All of those perimeter players (with the exception of Korver playing on Utah) were far more efficient basketball players with Iverson than they ever came close to being without.
The kind of stuff that happened with Walter Hermann tonight is the kind of stuff Iverson has done throughout his career. He draws double coverage and finds his guy that the double came off of.
Interior players who thrive with Iverson need to be able to catch well and finish quickly. In other words, Maxiell and McDyess will thrive with Iverson, while Kwame won’t. The tragedy of Iverson’s tenure in Denver is that he never got to play with a healthy Nene, who is the perfect kind of interior player for him.
Iverson has never played on a team with guys nearly as good as the Pistons. See if you don’t love him in March more than you do today. I understand your attachment to Chauncey – you did win a title with him – but you and Rip both need to move past it.
It’s no coincidence that Iverson almost always has the best +/- of anyone on his team. When he’s on the court, his team plays better. And that’s really the only statistic that matters.
Before last year, everyone said KG wasn’t able to “better his teammates” either…
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“Even if they pull it together and get on the same page Piston fans shouldn’t get too attached to Allen Iverson. Joe isn’t going to resign him. What would be the point of the trade if he did?”
I’d put the odds of Iverson being back next year at better than 50/50.
He’ll sign for the MLE wherever he plays next year, and why not do it in Detroit? Same for Rasheed.
If both guys sign one year deals for the MLE, Dumars gets $26m in additional cap space for 2009 alone. That’s the point of the trade. (Well, giving Detroit a free shot at winning a title this year – a shot they didn’t have with Chauncey – is the other point of the trade…)
November 29th, 2008 at 3:57 am